Poplar Firewood

Poplar firewood is a very controversial firewood to burn. Just like any piece of wood, poplar will burn, but will it burn good enough to make it worth your time?The poplar tree is also commonly called the aspen or the cottonwood. The tree is native to the Northern Hemisphere and the populas genus consists of about 25-35 flowering deciduous plants.

The trees can grow anywhere from 50-165 feet tall with trunks up to 8 feet in diameter. The bark of the tree is generally smooth and can have a white, green or grey color.

Poplar trees are commonly planted for ornamental purposes due to their rapid growth and shade capabilities. They are easy to care for and thrive in warm conditions.The trees also have a vigorous and extensive root system that can spread out 40 meters from the tree. Do to the invasive root system, the tree should not be planted near buildings or septic fields.

Some of the most common poplar trees found in North America are the:

White poplar

Black poplar

Lombardy poplar

Balsam poplar

Eastern poplar

The wood of the poplar is very flexible. The tree is commonly used to produce paper, pallets and plywood. Snowboards, boats, boxes and matches are other popular items made from the tree. Poplar is also planted as a windbreak or used as a privacy screen due to the rapid growth of the tree.

Firewood Usage

Most people describe poplar as a gofer wood because you put one piece in the fire then you immediately have to gofer more.

The wood of the poplar is very soft and light. Cutting through a piece of poplar with a sharp chainsaw is very different compared to a hardwood like oak or maple. The chain screams through poplar throwing large chunks and making quick work of the tree.The wood is also very light. Seasoned poplar is not a very dense and it's obvious when you pick up a log. Poplar burns hot and fast which is not a surprise due to its low density. So here's the question.....should you use it for firewood?Poplar can make a good early or late season firewood when the temperatures are moderate. It's also a good wood to mix in with other higher quality hardwoods. The wood works good for starting fires or simply using it for a campfire in your backyard.

I actually bought a load of poplar by the pulp cord, which is bolts of the wood in 8 foot lengths. A logging company down the road had lots of the wood and I bought it for next to nothing. Now, I don't usually buy low quality wood but at $32 a full cord I couldn't resist. Plus the load actually had a little hard wood mixed in here and there! I burn the poplar mainly in my outdoor wood furnace and sometimes use the wood to help light a fire in my fireplace. The wood does burn hot and quick and also pops a lot more than other woods.

Overall, I'm pretty impressed with the wood. Yes, it's definitely not the best, but if you have realistic expectations poplar firewood could work well for you too! Do I recommend going out and buying poplar? No, not unless you get it for next to nothing. If you have access to the wood on your property or somewhere close to your home, the wood is worth cutting up instead of just rotting in the forest.